Refrigerator.



Patented Doc. 3|, I901.

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UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

LOUIS FELDKIRCHER, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,258, dated December 31, 1901.

I Application filed March 9, 1901. Serial No. 50,491. (No model.) h

To aZZ whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, LOUIS J FELDKIR CHER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Nashville, in-the county'of'Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented anew and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generallyto refrigerators or ice-boxes, and more particularly to that class especially designed for the use of grocers, butchers, and general store-keepers, the object being to provide a simple, cheap, and improved construction of refrigerator of this class. I

A further object is to provide an improved construction whereby the sliding receptacle may be readily moved in and out of the refrigerator and to provide the same with means for preventing the escape of cold air while its contents'a're being. removed.

Another object is to provide an automatically-operating cut-01f for preventing the escape of cold air when the doors to the several compartments are opened.

A stillfurther object is to provide an improved constructiou of ice-rack having removable drip -pans,"which may be conveniently detached to permit of the ready and thorough'cleaning thereof.

With the aboveobjects in View the invention consists in the novel features of construction' hereinafter fully described, particularly pointed out in the claims, and clearly illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective View of one of the doors opened, showing the automatic cold-air cut-offs; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the sliding receptacle partly withdrawn from the refrigerator-casing; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional view through the refrigerator; Fig. 4, a similar View at right angles to Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a horizontal sectional view; Fig. 6, a similar view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4'; Fig. 7, a sectional detail view of the ice-rack, and Fig.

8 a detail of the fastening means for the curtains of the sliding receptacle.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, A designates the easing of the ice-chest or refrigerator, which is of any well-known construction, having double walls, between which suitable packing is placed, and having its sides bolted together,

so that the refrigerator may be conveniently assembled or taken apart. The top of the casing is closed bya removable cover B,.which is flanged, so as to fit tightly within the easing when in position, and is provided with an opening 0, covered by wire-netting. The casing is provided with'an outwardly-swinging door D, through which ice is introduced,

the iceresting upon a rack E, suitably supsufficient size to receive the straps and turnbuttons and carrying at its edges the troughs or guttersM, which are closed'at'one end and at the other end provided with spouts N, projecting therefrom. These drip-pans are secured in position by turning the turn-buttons transversely of the openings or slots therein 7 a after they have been placed in proper position beneath the ice-supports. Arranged at the spout ends of the drip-pans is a transversely-extending trough or pan 0, which is retained in position by being positioned upon a cleat P, secured to the under side of the frame of the ice-rack. This trough or pan has an outlet'pipe Q atone end thereof,which communicateswith an outlet-pipe R, extendin g through one side of the refrigerator-casing to the exterior thereof.

Arranged beneath the icerack is a sliding receptacle S, of which there may be one or more, said receptacle being moved in and out of the casing through an opening formed in one of the walls of the latter. 7 This recepta cle is provided at both ends with walls T and is divided into two compartments by a partition-wall T. This receptacle may be divided into as many different compartments as may be desired. Arranged just above the receptacle upon the interior of the casing are two IOC ' tracks U, upon which rollers V move, said said opening upon the interior of the casing is a strip of flexible material X, which is engaged and pressed tightly against the wall of the casing by the flange of the rear wall of the receptacle when the latter iswithdrawn so that any escape of cold air from the refrigerator-casing is prevented. The front wall of the receptacle has secured thereto upwardlyextending brackets a, carrying rollers b, whichmove upon tracks 0, which tracks at their inner ends are supported by the refrig: eratorcasing and at their opposite ends by being attached to an adjacent wall of the room in which the refrigerator is positioned or supported in any other manner. The compart ment in the refrigerator-casing in. which the said receptacle slides carries rollers d,which engage the sides of said receptacle and assist in rendering the movement of the same in and out of the casing easy. In some cases the rails upon the exteriorof the refrigerator instead of being supported as above set forth could be secured upon the top of the casing, projecting beyond one edge, thereof, so as to form tracks. In this case they could be supported at their outer ends by uprights,

or the uprights could be dispensed with. The,

receptacle is secured within the casing by swinging leversf, which are pivoted to the casing and are swung downwardly into ongagement with keepers g, secured to the outer wall of the receptacle. Said receptacle is provided with hooks h and racks t' to receive meat and other articles. The sides of the compartments formed in said receptacle may be closed by swinging doorsj or by curtains 7c. Thecurtainscarryintermediatelyoftheir ends and at their lower ends rods Z, which project at their ends beyond the edges of the curtain and are bent to form heads m. These I grooves n.

heads move in inwardly-extending grooves a, formed in the walls of the compartments, and engage in downwardly-extending grooves or recesses 0, formed at the inner ends of said Thus the curtains are securely held, in position until the rods are drawn up wardly out of the locking-grooves and then drawn outwardly, when either the entire curtain or lower portion maybe raised. These curtains or doors for the compartments, either of which may be used, serve to prevent the escape of cold air when the receptacle is withdrawn for the removal of some of the articles contained therein.

Arranged within the casing and at one side of the sliding receptacle are compartments, of which there may be any desired number, two being here shown, each compartment being closed by a swinging door 19, in which a glass or transparent plate q is arranged, whereby the contents of the compartments may be inspected without opening the doors. Each door is provided on its inner side and adjacent to its upper and lower edges with guidebars r, upon which loops 8, carried by swinging cut-offs t, move when the door is opened or closed; These cutoffs are pivoted at their inner ends and control openings t, formed in the upper and lower walls of the compartments and through which the cold air circulates from the ice-chamber. The upper cutoff of each compartment slides upon a shelf u, arranged at the upper end of the compartment, as clearly illustrated. When the door to one of these compartments isopened, the cut-offs at the upper and lower ends of the compartment are swung outwardly to cover the openings in the compartment, and thus prevent the escape .of any cold air. The doors are provided with any preferred form of latch or look to secure the same closed. The rear wall of the lower compartment is removed, so that said compartment communicates with the main compartment of the refrigerator, thus permitting the cold air from the bottom of the refrigerator to freely pass upward into said smaller compartments. As many of these cut-offs may be provided as desired. 1

Arranged upon the interior of the casing is a cooler 22 to contain drinking-water- This cooler is provided with a removable cover and is so positioned with relation to the door through which ice is inserted that it may be conveniently filled with water. Said cooler is provided with a pipe to, which projects to the exterior of the casing and is provided with an ordinary valve or faucet w.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a refrigerator, a casing provided with a compartment having, openings in its top and bottom, a pair of superposed pivoted cutoffs for controlling said openings, a door for said compartment, parallel rods. carried on the door, and loops connected to the cut-ofi's and slidable on therespective rods, whereby on the movement of the door the cut-offs will be operated in unison, substantially as described.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination of a casing having an opening formed in one of its walls,a sliding receptacle movable through said opening, a transverse partition for separating said receptacle into a plurality of noncommunicating compartments, means for closing the sides of the latter, a track arranged in said casing above the receptacle, rollers carried by the receptacle moving upon said track,a track arranged upon the exterior of the casing above said receptacle, and rollers carried bylsaid receptacle moving upon said track, substantially as described.

3. In a refrigerator, the combination with a IIO ceptacle in the casing, substantially as described.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination with a casing provided with an opening in one of its walls,of a slidable receptacle movable through said opening and formed with a compartment having end walls formed with inwardly-extending grooves, having at their inner ends downwardly-extending grooves, and curtains closing the sides of said compartment and having rods projecting at their ends and movable in said grooves, substantially as described.

- 5. In a refrigerator, the combination of an ice-rack, comprising a frame and ice supporting bars, threaded rods depending from the alternate bars, drip-pans comprising bars slotted to receive said rods and carrying gutters,and turn-buttons upon said rods for looking the drip-pans in position beneath the icebars, substantially as described.

LOUIS J. FELDKIROHER. Witnesses:

JOHNNIE F. WILK, ROBERT A. HALL. 

